Co-teaching in higher education| Effects on pre-service educators' academic growth and attitudes towards inclusion in special education

• Main Author: Zbacnik, Amanda J.
• Language: EN
• Published: Saint Mary's University of Minnesota 2015
• Subjects: Adult education|Special education
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3734323

<p> Co-teaching has been utilized as a method of academic intervention used in K-12 classrooms over the past fifteen or more years. This method has consistently involved the pairing of a special educator with a general educator through a variety of co-teaching models. Co-teaching is meant to be used in inclusive environments, where students with and without disabilities are taught together. Co-teaching is a commitment from both educators who participate voluntarily, develop a professional relationship with one another, allow time for planning of classroom objectives, and obtain sufficient training. Multiple benefits to carefully implemented co-teaching in the K-12 environment have been documented in research studies. However, few studies contain information about co-teaching in higher education, particularly in the field of education. This research hopes to gain an understanding of how the pairing of a K-12 special educator and special education professor can bridge educational theory and practice to, hopefully, produce pre-service educators that have more competence about the realities of the teaching world. Results under analysis include measuring attitudes about special education inclusion and overall academic growth for pre-service educators after exposure to knowledge from two working professionals in a co-teaching and traditionally taught classroom environment. </p>